Monday, May 4, 2015


News Clips For The Day



Must See – Another bunch of wonderful CBS photos for the week! Go to http://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/photos-of-the-week-april-25-may-1-2015/



POLICE NEWS TODAY


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/nypd-officer-brian-moore-dies-two-days-after-being-shot-in-the-head/

NYPD officer dies two days after being shot in the head
CBS/AP
May 4, 2015

Photograph – Officer Brian Moore  CBS NEW YORK

An NYPD police officer died Monday, two days after being shot in the head while sitting in an unmarked car in Queens, CBS News has confirmed.

Officer Brian Moore, 25, had been in a medically-induced coma after undergoing surgery for what court papers described as "severe injuries to his skull and brain." District Attorney Richard Brown told The Associated Press on Sunday that Moore was "fighting for his life."

He was removed from life support at 11:15 a.m. Monday, sources said.

The suspect, 35-year-old Demetrius Blackwell, was ordered held without bail Sunday after appearing in Queens Criminal Court. He did not enter a plea to charges of attempted murder.

Prosecutors planned to present the case to a grand jury before Blackwell's next court appearance on Friday.

Blackwell's court-appointed lawyer, David Bart, said his client denied the charges, which also include assault and weapons offenses.

Police on Monday continued to search for the weapon.

"This was nothing more and nothing less than a cold-blooded attempt at an assassination of New York's finest," Assistant District Attorney Peter McCormack said.

McCormack said Moore and patrol partner Erik Jansen - both in plainclothes in an unmarked police car - approached Blackwell on a Queens street after seeing him tugging at his waistband around 6:15 p.m. Saturday and asked him "What are you carrying?"

The officers ordered Blackwell to stop and exchanged words with him. That's when Blackwell turned, the prosecutor said, and "in a vicious manner started to fire" - at least two shots.

Jansen was not hit and radioed for help.

CBS New York reports that Blackwell, known on the street as "Hellraiser," has nine previous arrests on his record, including charges of attempted murder, robbery, weapons possession and assault on two officers, authorities said. In 2013 he was arrested on attempted grand larceny charges. That same year, he was also charged for assault on a police officer.

Moore is the fifth NYPD officer shot since December, and the third to die in the line of duty. Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu were killed Dec. 20 when a gunman shot them as they sat in their patrol car in Brooklyn.

On Jan. 5, plainclothes officers Andrew Dossi and Aliro Pellerano were shot responding to a grocery store robbery in the Bronx. Both of those officers survived.




“The suspect, 35-year-old Demetrius Blackwell, was ordered held without bail Sunday after appearing in Queens Criminal Court. He did not enter a plea to charges of attempted murder. Prosecutors planned to present the case to a grand jury before Blackwell's next court appearance on Friday. Blackwell's court-appointed lawyer, David Bart, said his client denied the charges, which also include assault and weapons offenses. Police on Monday continued to search for the weapon. …. CBS New York reports that Blackwell, known on the street as "Hellraiser," has nine previous arrests on his record, including charges of attempted murder, robbery, weapons possession and assault on two officers, authorities said. In 2013 he was arrested on attempted grand larceny charges. That same year, he was also charged for assault on a police officer.”

The question I have in my mind is whether the unnamed bystander who told officers what the suspect looked like – and possibly gave them his name – was correct in his identification. People rarely get a good look at someone who is running from the police. An earlier article said that the officers were told by someone which direction he supposedly took. Then after something over an hour they found his house. It wasn't made clear how they came to that knowledge about him. Hopefully they have picked up the correct man.

The photograph of the deceased officer shows a very young and gentle looking young man with a pleasant expression. Both officers were plain clothed and driving an unmarked car. Did the assailant know them by sight as policemen? Was this killing vengeance for a former negative interaction, or simply the desire to “kill a cop?” Either way, it's no more acceptable than instances when officers mistreat the citizens.




http://www.cbsnews.com/news/freddie-gray-case-in-baltimore-one-police-officers-perspective/

Baltimore police tensions: One officer's perspective
By INES NOVACIC CBS NEWS
May 4, 2015

Photograph – A Baltimore police officer and his wife, who asked not to be identified, discuss the tensions surrounding the Freddie Gray case with CBS News.
 CBS NEWS

On Friday evening, hours after six Baltimore police officers were charged in the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray, another of the city's police officers reflected on the turmoil surrounding the case as he and his wife prepared to put their young baby to bed.

"Everyone emails saying there are credible threats against law enforcement and families, to the point that they're saying if you have police plates you might wanna take precautions [and] remove it," said the officer, who asked not to be named. For the purpose of this story, he and his wife will be referred to as Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

"We get cussed at, shot at. Crazy stuff is going on," he added.

Gray suffered ultimately fatal spinal injuries while being transported in a police van last month. His arms and legs were bound, but he wasn't secured within the vehicle by seatbelt, as he should have been according to department procedures. Gray's death sparked protests throughout the city, with tensions boiling over last Monday in the form of riots and violence directed at police, prompting the deployment of the National Guard and the enforcement of a citywide curfew.

State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced a host of charges against the six officers involved in Gray's arrest and transport, including involuntary manslaughter, official misconduct and false imprisonment - Gray never should have been arrested in the first place, Mosby said. The driver of the police van - Officer Caesar Goodson - has been charged with second-degree depraved-heart murder, the most serious of the charges leveled against the officers.

According to the Smiths, the charges seemed to be intended to "make an example" of the police officers.

"When I see what he goes through every night it's very hard not to sympathize with him and the police, and the officers who were arrested," said Mrs. Smith. "Given what the media has put up there and the facts that we know, [the charge] seems very extreme."

"The biggest thing i can see that wasn't done but should have been done is the buckling in. So from my understanding, that's a departmental policy and I can see being charged departmentally for that," said Mr. Smith.

Smith said he sympathized with the Gray family, but worries that the case - and the intense scrutiny it has brought to the department - could compromise police officers' ability do legitimate policing.

"I feel horrible for the family. It's a horrible circumstance that I cannot relate to. But if you think of [all] the officers who were not there, and they see the footage, and they see the case as a drug dealer ran and got hurt (...) a lot of the officers I could see them saying 'We're wrong no matter what,'" said Mr. Smith,

Mrs. Smith also cautioned against the media painting police officers with a broad brush.

"I feel like there's no words for some of the things we saw, how they treat the police as a whole and that's not how they all are. Of course being a police wife, I'm defensive and I care about my husband, so it brings about a whole different kind of stress."

"Now I have in my head that one little mistake or being associated with someone else who makes wrong decision can impact our entire lives.

The solution, they both agreed, was to focus on community outreach between officers and residents, especially in neighborhoods plagued by mistrust like West Baltimore.

"Anything that gets the police working with the community," Mr. Smith said. "Some local school did field trips with us to the park, and we did ... team-building with kids that were local in our area that we worked. ... I thought that was really good."

"I can see why they may not be thrilled to see us. But at the same time, just like they don't want us to discriminate against them, I don't want them to discriminate against me. I know I have a clean conscience."




“According to the Smiths, the charges seemed to be intended to "make an example" of the police officers. "When I see what he goes through every night it's very hard not to sympathize with him and the police, and the officers who were arrested," said Mrs. Smith. "Given what the media has put up there and the facts that we know, [the charge] seems very extreme." …. But if you think of [all] the officers who were not there, and they see the footage, and they see the case as a drug dealer ran and got hurt (...) a lot of the officers I could see them saying 'We're wrong no matter what,'" said Mr. Smith …. "Now I have in my head that one little mistake or being associated with someone else who makes wrong decision can impact our entire lives. …. "Anything that gets the police working with the community," Mr. Smith said. "Some local school did field trips with us to the park, and we did ... team-building with kids that were local in our area that we worked. ... I thought that was really good." "I can see why they may not be thrilled to see us. But at the same time, just like they don't want us to discriminate against them, I don't want them to discriminate against me. I know I have a clean conscience."

This couple were not involved personally in the incident, so truly they have no guilt unless they have knowledge of other “rough rides” and have not stood up against the “tradition.” I notice they didn't mention the matter of the “rough ride” which has been described in several different ways, but is alike in content, in what is apparently a large number of other cities. This is a widespread police technique to “punish” someone, perhaps for being “mouthy.”

See this New York Times article on the subject: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/01/us/freddie-grays-injury-and-the-police-rough-ride.html?_r=0. The following are clips from that article: “Freddie Gray’s Injury and the Police ‘Rough Ride’,” By MANNY FERNANDEZ, APRIL 30, 2015 –

“In Baltimore, they call it a “rough ride.” In Philadelphia, they had another name for it that hints at the age of the practice — a “nickel ride,” a reference to old-time amusement park rides that cost five cents. Other cities called them joy rides.

The slang terms mask a dark tradition of police misconduct in which suspects, seated or lying face down and in handcuffs in the back of a police wagon, are jolted and battered by an intentionally rough and bumpy ride that can do as much damage as a police baton without an officer having to administer a blow.

The exact cause of the spinal injury that Freddie Gray, 25, sustained while in police custody in Baltimore before his death April 19 has not been made clear. The police have said that he was not strapped into a seatbelt, a violation of department policy. That has led some to wonder whether he was deliberately left unbuckled, reminiscent of a practice that while little known has left a brutal, costly legacy of severe injuries and multimillion-dollar settlements throughout the country.

A lawyer for the Baltimore police union and news reports Thursday focused on Mr. Gray’s ride in the back of the van after his arrest by Baltimore officers on April 12. “Our position is something happened inside that van,” the lawyer, Michael E. Davey, said at a news conference last week. “We just don’t know what.”

Determining exactly how Mr. Gray was injured will be a focus of the investigation. Even if it happened in the van, it does not necessarily point toward an intentional rough ride, a ritual experts said was at least several decades old. “I never saw it, but I’ve heard about it,” said Bernard K. Melekian, the undersheriff of Santa Barbara County, Calif., and a former director of the Justice Department’s community-oriented policing office. “My sense was that that kind of behavior had long been gone.”

The tradition was regarded as a technique by aggressive officers to inflict punishment on those they arrested without ever being accused of physically assaulting them with their weapons or hands. For a suspect with hands cuffed behind him, seated on a thin bench in the back of a speeding police van, a sudden stop or a sharp turn or a bumpy road can cause severe injuries that can leave a person in a wheelchair or disfigured for life.

One June night in 1980, Freddie Franklin was walking on 75th Street in Chicago with a friend when he said that a group of police officers wrongfully arrested him, placed him in handcuffs and forced him into the back of a wagon. Two officers drove the van recklessly, to throw him around the floor of the van, he said in a federal lawsuit. According to court documents, by the time Mr. Franklin arrived at the police station, he had bitten off his lower lip.

“It’s sort of a retaliatory gesture,” said Robert W. Klotz, a police-procedures expert and former deputy chief of police of the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington. “It’s one of those nebulous type of things where the individual feels they’ve been subjected to it because they’ve been mouthy. The officers say they have no intent in doing anything. It winds up in a he said-she said situation.”

Lawyers and police experts said it was impossible to know how widespread the rough-riding practice has been throughout the country. Allegations have surfaced over the years in cities large and small.

In 1999, a former police chaplain in Aurora, Ill., a city of nearly 200,000 outside Chicago, filed a civil rights lawsuit accusing the police department there of making it a common practice for drivers to stop suddenly to injure handcuffed suspects. Police leaders denied the allegations, but the suit was later settled.

In 2001, The Philadelphia Inquirer published a series of articles detailing injuries sustained by 20 victims of so-called nickel rides. The victims were paid $2.3 million in city legal settlements, although no officer had ever been disciplined for the practice. In response, the police commissioner at the time, John F. Timoney, banned the use of all police wagons not equipped with seatbelts or safety padding.

In Chicago, the American Civil Liberties Union represented Mr. Franklin in the federal lawsuit he filed against six police officers, alleging injuries that required two reconstructive operations on his mouth. Although the city’s lawyers denied the officers had done anything wrong, the city settled the lawsuit for $135,000.

At least two other Baltimore men, Jeffrey Alston and Dondi Johnson, were paralyzed after police van rides in separate cases that led to lawsuits. Mr. Alston, paralyzed from the neck down, settled for $6 million in 2004.

Experts said that nationally, the tradition was no longer as prevalent as it once was. Many departments now require officers to place suspects riding in vans in seatbelts or other restraints. Some agencies use vans that allow prisoners with their hands cuffed behind their backs to hold on to belts behind them. And public scrutiny of police misconduct has helped reform agencies that might have once tolerated or ignored complaints of rough van rides.

“I don’t believe this is standard operating procedure,” said Hubert Williams, a former police director of Newark, who is a consultant with the nonprofit Independent Institute. “What’s been happening through the years is that the police have changed. Policing by and large through the years has become more community-oriented and more accountable to the public. But that does not dispose of these questions. I think the absence of accountability is the reason they occur.”





http://thefreethoughtproject.com/video-captures-cops-suspect-training-dummy-mma-moves-snap-arm/

Video Captures Cops Using Suspect as Training Dummy for MMA Moves, Snap his Arm in Two
By Matt Agorist on May 3, 2015

Gardena, CA — The torturous and sadistic actions of San Bernardino police officers were captured on video as cops snap a man’s arm while he lays flat on his stomach.

The video was taken last October in the aftermath of a brief police pursuit of 30-year-old, Jesus Castaneda. Castaneda led police on a short car chase when he eventually surrendered.

During the arrest, Castaneda was on his stomach with multiple officers surrounding him. It was apparent that the need for pain compliance techniques was entirely unnecessary. However, the officers proceeded to punch and kick Castaneda.

Officers then grabbed the seemingly non-violent man’s arm and twisted backwards. The resultant force snapped Castaneda’s arm at the elbow.

He was then dragged in handcuffs like an animal to the patrol car.

“When I first saw that video, it was very disturbing and shocking,” said Michael Munoz, one of Castaneda’s defense attorneys.

“You not only see what happens to him, but you can hear what happens to him, and you see the position he’s lying in at the time. He’s on his stomach,” defense attorney Warren Ellis said.

Castaneda was indeed guilty of car theft, he later plead guilty to multiple charges including grand theft auto. However, this man was in police custody. Did he deserve to be fodder to some officer’s sadistic MMA fantasy?

The amount of pressure needed to inflict these severe injuries to Castaneda went far above any rational means of the application of force. The line between subduing a suspect and torturing man was overtly crossed.

“I don’t exonerate what he did. He committed a crime. But, it doesn’t give the police the right to use excessive force, to be punching him, dislocating his arm, kicking him and then dragging him across the floor,” Munoz said.

The San Bernardino Police Department is investigating the incident.




“During the arrest, Castaneda was on his stomach with multiple officers surrounding him. It was apparent that the need for pain compliance techniques was entirely unnecessary. However, the officers proceeded to punch and kick Castaneda. Officers then grabbed the seemingly non-violent man’s arm and twisted backwards. The resultant force snapped Castaneda’s arm at the elbow. …. Castaneda was indeed guilty of car theft, he later plead guilty to multiple charges including grand theft auto. However, this man was in police custody. Did he deserve to be fodder to some officer’s sadistic MMA fantasy? The amount of pressure needed to inflict these severe injuries to Castaneda went far above any rational means of the application of force. The line between subduing a suspect and torturing man was overtly crossed. …. The San Bernardino Police Department is investigating the incident.”

Why is it that police departments always say that they are “investigating the incident,” and maybe that the officer in question is suspended with pay? In this case the department statement twice says that “if” they get an “unedited tape” showing the incident they will investigate. The injured suspect is suing the city and the police department. More lawsuits should help change police behavior.


http://abc7.com/news/video-shows-san-bernardino-officers-dislocating-mans-elbow/690427/

NEWS
VIDEO SHOWS SAN BERNARDINO POLICE OFFICERS DISLOCATING MAN'S ELBOW DURING ARREST

By Leanne Suter
Friday, May 01, 2015

GARDENA, Calif. (KABC) --
A stomach-turning arrest was caught on camera as a San Bernardino police officer dislocated a man's elbow while he's being taken into custody.

A neighbor captured the scene after 30-year-old Jesus Castaneda led police on a short car chase last October. In the video, Castaneda is seen screaming in pain while he is on the ground.

. . . .

Once Castaneda was in custody, he was dragged into the patrol car. He was later convicted of evading police, assaulting a police officer and grand theft auto. He is currently behind bars.

His attorneys said the disturbing video shows the officers went too far, and they plan on filing a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city of San Bernardino and the police department.

San Bernardino Police Chief released the following statement Friday regarding the incident:

"The San Bernardino Police Department was recently made aware of a video that depicts some of our police officers involved in a use of force while attempting to arrest a suspect following a pursuit last year. The Department was aware of the arrest and the use of force that took place in October of 2014, per policy and normal protocol the incident was documented in police reports completed by the involved officers. Following the arrest, the case was submitted to the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office. The case was filed and the suspect ultimately pled guilty to charges of assaulting a police officer (PC 69), auto theft (VC 10851), evading (VC 2800.2) and driving on the wrong side of road while evading (VC 2800.4), Court case FSB1404713.

The San Bernardino Police Department takes every use of force seriously and it also documents and reviews officers' actions involved in those force incidents. Following this incident the use of force was reviewed by supervisors and commander(s) in the involved officer's chain of command. We were not aware of the existence of video footage until it appeared on the news and are now attempting to obtain an unedited version of the video. The San Bernardino Police Department has a well-established policy regarding the use and application of force by our police officers and we have a well-established review process in place to ensure that policy is followed. If we receive an unedited version of the video that is in conflict with information in the initial reports then we will investigate those discrepancies. In light of the impending litigation implied by the suspect's attorneys in this case it would be inappropriate to comment any further on the particulars of this case.
I am sensitive to the fact that law enforcement officers and departments throughout the United States are being scrutinized for their actions. It is absolutely appropriate that citizens demand accountability and fairness from those empowered with policing authority in our communities. Police officers make decisions every day that carry constitutional implications and are often expected to make those decisions in a split second - abuses of that authority are not acceptable and nor should they be acceptable.

The San Bernardino Police Department is an organization committed to providing the best possible service to the citizens of our community; we are also committed to fairness, transparency in our processes and accountability to our community."





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/another-city-awaits-decisions-on-police-involved-deaths/

Another city awaits decisions on police-involved deaths
By DEAN REYNOLDS CBS NEWS
May 2, 2015

CLEVELAND -- Baltimore isn't the only city where there's tension between cops and the community.

The mayor of Cleveland said this week his city is prepared to handle reaction to the trial of an officer charged in the deadly shootings of two people. It comes as officials investigate the fatal police shooting of a 12-year-old boy.

Cleveland police officer Michael Brelo is on trial for manslaughter in the deaths of Amalissa Williams and Timothy Russell. In 2012, their car backfired and officers said they thought the victims, who were unarmed, were shooting at them.

Police fired 137 rounds, including 49 by Brelo, who is accused of shooting even after the victims had stopped moving.

Last year, a Justice Department inquiry found more than 600 cases of excessive police force in Cleveland from 2010 to 2013.

Samarria Rice's pain is still fresh from the death of her 12-year-old son, Tamir, who was shot by a white officer last November. A security tape showed him waving what turned out to be a toy pistol.

When his 14-year-old sister went to his aid, police tackled her, repeatedly. An investigation of the shooting has gone on for months, but no charges have been filed.

"I'm very much angry," said Rice, adding that she doesn't know what the holdup is. "I need an indictment immediately.

"It's an open and shut case, it's five months later. I don't know what they're waiting on.

But does she think this is a race problem or a police problem

"It's a race problem with bad police officers. Let me just say that. Because all police officers are not bad," she said. "I'm aware of that.

In the trial of Brelo, summations are set for next week. There is no jury, so a decision from the judge to either acquit or convict could come a week after that.




“The mayor of Cleveland said this week his city is prepared to handle reaction to the trial of an officer charged in the deadly shootings of two people. It comes as officials investigate the fatal police shooting of a 12-year-old boy. Cleveland police officer Michael Brelo is on trial for manslaughter in the deaths of Amalissa Williams and Timothy Russell. In 2012, their car backfired and officers said they thought the victims, who were unarmed, were shooting at them. Police fired 137 rounds, including 49 by Brelo, who is accused of shooting even after the victims had stopped moving. Last year, a Justice Department inquiry found more than 600 cases of excessive police force in Cleveland from 2010 to 2013.”

I keep expecting the number of police abuse cases to level off, but so far every day has brought at least one new one. Today's video of police either “breaking” or “dislocating” a man's arm when he was lying on his face on the ground is one of the worst ones so far. The video has sound, and it recorded that popping sound as the injury occurred. That person is suing the city and the police department, as all of these victims should do. That would put some real pressure on the people at the top to make them come down a bit harder on the cops on the street.





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http://www.cbsnews.com/news/prince-william-kate-name-their-daughter-charlotte-elizabeth-diana/

Prince William, Kate name their daughter
CBS/AP
May 4, 2015

40 Photographs – Prince William and Kate

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have chosen a name for their new daughter: Charlotte Elizabeth Diana.

Kensington Palace announced the name Monday, two days after Prince William and Kate welcomed the baby girl. She'll be known as Her Royal Highness Princess Charlotte of Cambridge.

Charlotte, the feminine form of Charles, is a nod to the newborn's grandfather, Prince Charles. The middle names honor Queen Elizabeth II, the infant's great-grandmother, and the late Princess Diana, William's mother.

Kate gave birth to the baby girl at 8:34 a.m. (3:34 a.m. ET) on Saturday. Prince William was present for the birth. She weighed 8 pounds, 3 ounces, according to the palace, which also said that mother and daughter are doing well.

The princess is the fifth great-grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II. She is fourth in line to the throne, after her grandfather Charles, her father William and her older brother George.

Soldiers on horseback have rode out in procession in London to fire gun salutes in honor of Britain's newborn princess.

Dozens of deafening volleys were fired Monday from Hyde Park and the Tower of London to celebrate the princess' birth.

Bookmakers took huge amounts of bets on the name before it was announced, with Alice, Charlotte, Elizabeth, Victoria, Olivia and Diana among the most popular guesses.

William and Kate also waited two days to name their first child, Prince George, in 2013.




“Soldiers on horseback have rode out in procession in London to fire gun salutes in honor of Britain's newborn princess. Dozens of deafening volleys were fired Monday from Hyde Park and the Tower of London to celebrate the princess' birth. Bookmakers took huge amounts of bets on the name before it was announced, with Alice, Charlotte, Elizabeth, Victoria, Olivia and Diana among the most popular guesses.” Princess Charlotte is a lovely name for a very pretty little baby. I wonder how much money was won by those who guessed it correctly.

In some ways I wish I had been born in England and not the US. I do love the pageantry that is used to celebrate such things as this, and the citizens of Britain at this time in their history are almost as “free” as we are here, and they are a government that tries to help the poor more than we sometimes do. Of course, I know they have to pay higher taxes than we do. I personally believe that on the upper incomes there should be more taxes here than there are now. During the last thirty or so years the number of tax breaks for the wealthy have increased to a ridiculous degree, and I don't think that Corporations should be treated under the law as individuals. That's yet another tax dodge, plus the fact that they now, after the Citizens United Supreme Court decision, are allowed to give huge amounts to political campaigns and have been basically buying candidates since that time. The infamous Koch brothers are a prime example, but they are by no means the only ones. It's really unnerving when I look at the trend in this country toward the growth of wealth concentrated at the top of our society. We may not be a democracy at all in the next 20 years.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/boston-marathon-bomber-dzhokhar-tsarnaev-cries-as-his-aunt-testifies/

Boston Marathon bomber cries as his aunt testifies
CBS/AP
May 4, 2015

31 Photographs – This undated photo released Wednesday, April 29, 2015, by the Federal Public Defender Office and presented as evidence during the penalty phase in the trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in Boston, brothers Dzhokhar, left, and Tamerlan Tsarnaev sit together at an unknown location.  AP

BOSTON -- For the first time, Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev dropped his blank, impassive demeanor and cried as his sobbing aunt briefly took the stand Monday in his federal death penalty trial before she was asked to step down to compose herself.

Tsarnaev, 21, wiped tears from his eyes quickly and fidgeted in his chair as his aunt sobbed uncontrollably. He had maintained a disinterested expression since his trial began in January.

His aunt, Patimat Suleimanova, cried as she sat down about 10 feet from Tsarnaev. The tears began falling before she began to testify, and she was only able to answer questions about her name, her year of birth and where she was born.

After a few minutes, Judge George O'Toole Jr. suggested that the defense call a different witness so she could compose herself.

She cries more heavily looking at photos of the lush mountain village of her birth; we pause, as she near-hyperventilates.
— Jim Armstrong (@JimArmstrongWBZ) May 4, 2015

As she left the stand, Tsarnaev used a tissue to wipe his eyes and nose.

Tsarnaev was convicted last month of 30 federal charges in the bombings, including 17 that carry the possibility of the death penalty. He moved to the U.S. with his family in 2002 and committed the bombings when he was 19.

Prosecutors say Tsarnaev was an equal partner in the bombings with his radicalized older brother, Tamerlan, and have urged the jury to sentence him to death. A recent poll showed a majority of Bostonians are against Tsarnaev paying with his life.

Tsarnaev's lawyers say Tamerlan, 26, was the mastermind of the attack and lured his brother into his plan. Tamerlan died days after the bombings following a shootout with police.

A cousin testified Monday that Dzhokhar was a kind and warm child, so gentle that he once cried while watching "The Lion King."

"I think that his kindness made everybody around him kind," Raisat Suleimanova said through a Russian translator.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William Weinreb pounced, asking her if she believes a deadly attack on innocent civilians can be considered kind. Tsarnaev's lawyer objected, and Suleimanova was not allowed to answer the question.

In all, five of Tsarnaev's family members are expected to take the witness stand in federal court. Tsarnaev blew a kiss to his relatives as U.S. Marshals led him out of the courtroom Monday afternoon for a lunch break.

Prosecutors urged Judge George O'Toole Jr. last week to press Tsarnaev's lawyers to make sure his relatives testify soon because 16 FBI agents have been assigned to guard and protect them while they are in the United States. The family members arrived in Boston on April 23.

"It's an enormous expense and distraction for the agency, and that's just part of the expense that the government has endured," Weinreb said during a sidebar discussion in court with Tsarnaev's lawyers and the judge, according to a transcript that was made public.




“A cousin testified Monday that Dzhokhar was a kind and warm child, so gentle that he once cried while watching "The Lion King." "I think that his kindness made everybody around him kind," Raisat Suleimanova said through a Russian translator. Assistant U.S. Attorney William Weinreb pounced, asking her if she believes a deadly attack on innocent civilians can be considered kind. Tsarnaev's lawyer objected, and Suleimanova was not allowed to answer the question.”

I'm glad to see that Tsarnaev cried. It shows he loves his aunt, which is a humane characteristic. Of course there is a general belief that he got involved in the whole terrible situation due to the influence of his older brother. It is also partly due to the ethnic and religious hatred that is inflaming various groups including many or even most of the followers of Islam. There is no place for mercy in the heart of a really hardcore extremist. We have that in this country, too, with the racism, religious intolerance and political extremism. Still, it's worse in the Middle East and SE Asia.




ANTI-MUSLIM MOVEMENT IN AMERICA – TWO ARTICLES


http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/05/04/404158281/5-things-to-know-about-the-organizers-of-mohammed-cartoon-contest

5 Things To Know About The Organizers Of Muhammad Cartoon Contest
Eyder Peralta
May 4, 2015

Photograph – Blogger Pamela Geller speaks at a Sept. 11, 2012, conference she organized in New York titled "Stop Islamization of America."
David Karp/AP

After two gunmen opened fire at the site of a Muhammad cartoon drawing contest Sunday night in Garland, Texas, the American Freedom Defense Initiative, which organized the event, is once again in the spotlight.

Here are five things you should know about the group.

1. Anti-Islam or pro-free speech? The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks extremist groups, lists the American Freedom Defense Initiative as an "active anti-Muslim group."

The New-York-based AFDI says its goal is simply to "go on the offensive when legal, academic, legislative, cultural, sociological, and political actions are taken to dismantle our basic freedoms and values."

2. Pamela Geller is the group's executive director. Again, the SPLC describes her as "the anti-Muslim movement's most visible and flamboyant figurehead."

Geller runs a website called Atlas Shrugs, which The New York Times says"attacks Islam with a rhetoric venomous enough that PayPal at one point branded it a hate site."

Geller, of course, doesn't think of it that way. In fact, in a speech delivered just before the contest for cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad opened, she defended her group's actions.

She referenced the January attack on the offices of the French satirical magazineCharlie Hebdo, which was targeted over its own depictions of the prophet.

Geller said that over the years, she has seen an "abridgment of freedom of speech" and her group was gathered to counter that. She says that limiting speech that offends Muslims will hasten the march toward a Sharia state.

"We are here for freedom of speech," she said. "Everything else is a smear."

3. The group was recording as it received word of the shooting. A police officer in tactical gear delivered the news.

The crowd inside the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland went quiet, and as the police officer began to leave, someone shouted, "Was the suspect Muslim?" The video is here; we are not embedding it because it does feature drawings of Muhammad.

4. The group was last in the news over controversial subway ads. As we reported, the group took the New York Transit Authority to court and won the right to post controversial ads at 10 subway stations.

The ads read: "In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man." In smaller letters, it added: "Support Israel. Defeat Jihad."

5. Geller is also the leader of the group Stop Islamization of America, which often acts in concert with the American Freedom Defense Initiative. If you remember, Stop Islamization of America led the fight against Park 51, a planned Muslim community center not far from the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York City.

Geller denounced the project as "the ground zero mega-mosque." On her blog she wrote:

"What could be more insulting and humiliating than a monster mosque in the shadow of the World Trade Center buildings brought down by Islamic attack?

"Worse still, the design is a mockery of the World Trade Center building design. Islamic jihad took down those buildings when they attacked, destroyed and murdered 3,000 people in an act of conquest and Islamic supremacism. What better way to mark your territory than to plant a giant mosque on the still-barren land of the World Trade Center? Sort of a giant victory lap. Any decent American, Muslim or otherwise, wouldn't dream of such an insult. It's a stab in eye of America. What's wrong with these people? Have they no heart? No soul?"




“The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks extremist groups, lists the American Freedom Defense Initiative as an "active anti-Muslim group." The New-York-based AFDI says its goal is simply to "go on the offensive when legal, academic, legislative, cultural, sociological, and political actions are taken to dismantle our basic freedoms and values." …. Geller said that over the years, she has seen an "abridgment of freedom of speech" and her group was gathered to counter that. She says that limiting speech that offends Muslims will hasten the march toward a Sharia state. "We are here for freedom of speech," she said. "Everything else is a smear." …. The group was last in the news over controversial subway ads. As we reported, the group took the New York Transit Authority to court and won the right to post controversial ads at 10 subway stations. The ads read: "In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man." In smaller letters, it added: "Support Israel. Defeat Jihad." …. Geller is also the leader of the group Stop Islamization of America, which often acts in concert with the American Freedom Defense Initiative. If you remember, Stop Islamization of America led the fight against Park 51, a planned Muslim community center not far from the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York City.”

I've received several anti-Islamic emails from a man I know near Gainesville, FL. He is my friend's husband. I like her more than I like him, needless to say. He's very right wing – gave me a copy of Atlas Shrugged to read, and I told him I didn't want to and handed it back. There is a lot of conspiracy theory on various subjects going on in Florida and the South in general, not to mention the West. There are talk radio hosts who keep those people stirred up over many issues which I consider to be our basic rights, and they think are an attack on the “American way.” There has always been a problem with people like that – some of them are violent and very radical – but the hatred is reaching a really dangerous level since the influence of the Tea Party on the federal and state levels. I am very much alarmed about it. See the following article on the two Islamic shooters.




http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/05/04/404203638/police-suspects-in-muhammad-cartoon-contest-attack-came-out-shooting

Police: Suspects In Muhammad Cartoon Contest Attack Came Out Shooting
Eyder Peralta
MAY 04, 2015

Two suspects jumped out of a dark-colored vehicle and began firing assault rifles on Sunday at the site of a contest where participants drew the Prophet Muhammad.

Joe Harn, a Garland, Texas, police officer, said one officer returned fire with his service pistol, killing both suspects.

At a news conference Monday, Harn added details about the incident that happened at the parking lot of the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland. TheAmerican Freedom Defense Initiative, which the Southern Poverty Law Center considers an active anti-Muslim group, had gathered for what it called a free-speech event.

Harn said the event was just about over when the two men pulled into the parking lot. He said the men wore some kind of body armor and that police are still investigating a motive.

Harn was asked if police considered the attack an act of terrorism.

"We're certainly looking into that," he said. "We have not knocked that out."

Harn refused to identify the suspects in the case, saying the FBI and the ATF were helping local law enforcement with the investigation.

Federal law enforcement sources, however, tell NPR's Dina Temple-Raston that one of the suspects is Elton Simpson, an Arizona man who converted to Islam.

According to court records, Simpson was convicted of lying to federal authorities in 2011. The FBI field office in Phoenix investigated whether Simpson might travel to Somalia to fight Jihad.

Over the course of years, they recorded his conversations and heard Simpson talk frequently about jihad and about leaving the United States to go fight for his "brothers in like Palestine."

At another point, investigators heard Simpson talking to an associate about leaving to Somalia, saying non-believers are "fighting against us ... because they don't want us to establish sharia."

From its inception, the event in Texas was controversial. The main organizer, Pamela Geller, has been threatened by Muslim extremists in the past, and the organization paid $10,000 for extra security.

Harn said that meant that local police, the FBI, the ATF and a S.W.A.T. team were on hand when the suspects opened fire.

He said police are aware of a tweet that was sent right before the attack. The account had previously sent this message: "When will they ever learn? They are planning on selecting the best picture drawn of Rasulullah (saws) in Texas."

Harn said officials have not connected the tweet to the incident.






http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/05/04/404198318/israel-braces-for-more-protests-by-minority-ethiopian-community

Israel Braces For More Protests By Minority Ethiopian Community
Jackie Northam
May 4, 2015

Israeli leaders are urging calm after violence marred a night of protests in Tel Aviv by the country's Ethiopian community. Dozens of people were injured, including many police officers, and dozens were arrested, according to news reports.

NPR's Emily Harris reports that people protesting treatment of Ethiopian-Israelis chanted peacefully near Tel Aviv City Hall on Sunday. "Later, police and demonstrators fought — with stones and bottles, tear gas and flash grenades," she says.

The protesters shut down a major highway in Tel Aviv and overturned a squad car, according to The Associated Press.

Haaratz newspaper reports that police were deployed in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv in anticipation of more protests today.

Israel's ceremonial president, Reuven Rivlin, said today that the protests by Ethiopian-Israelis had "revealed an open and raw wound at the heart of Israeli society" and that the country must respond to their grievances, according to The New York Times. But Rivlin condemned the violence.

Sunday's protest followed a smaller one in response to a video showing police punching and beating a young, uniformed Ethiopian-Israeli soldier. The video went viral on the Internet.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with the leaders of the Ethiopian community Monday, and with the soldier seen in the video, Damas Fikadeh, at his Jerusalem office. Netanyahu later tweeted that he was "shocked" by the video, adding, "We cannot accept it, and we will change it."

The beating was not an isolated incident, according to Haaretz. Israelis of Ethiopian descent have for years complained about harassment, brutality and discrimination.

Ethiopians began moving to Israel about three decades ago after rabbis decided they were descendants of a biblical Jewish tribe. The community now numbers about 135,000 people. But according to The Ethiopian National Project, Ethiopian-Israelis have a lower income than other Israelis, have less opportunity for higher education, and are more likely to end up in prison.

Occasionally, discrimination veers into outright racism, such as in the 1990s when it was discovered that Israel's health services threw away blood donated by Ethiopian-Israelis out of fear that it could be contaminated with HIV, Reuters reports.

As Emily Harris reports, many in the Ethiopian community are drawing parallels to protests over police treatment of African-Americans in U.S. cities such as Baltimore. Emily talked with Alemo Fahada, who recently finished his tour of duty as an Israeli soldier. He says he is tired of discrimination against dark-skinned Israelis.

"We want to stop this. This is going more than 25 years, and nobody says nothing," Fahada said. "For the government, we are black people. ... We are nothing for them."




“Israel's ceremonial president, Reuven Rivlin, said today that the protests by Ethiopian-Israelis had "revealed an open and raw wound at the heart of Israeli society" and that the country must respond to their grievances, according to The New York Times. But Rivlin condemned the violence. Sunday's protest followed a smaller one in response to a video showing police punching and beating a young, uniformed Ethiopian-Israeli soldier. The video went viral on the Internet. …. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with the leaders of the Ethiopian community Monday, and with the soldier seen in the video, Damas Fikadeh, at his Jerusalem office. Netanyahu later tweeted that he was "shocked" by the video, adding, "We cannot accept it, and we will change it." The beating was not an isolated incident, according to Haaretz. Israelis of Ethiopian descent have for years complained about harassment, brutality and discrimination. Ethiopians began moving to Israel about three decades ago after rabbis decided they were descendants of a biblical Jewish tribe. The community now numbers about 135,000 people. But according to The Ethiopian National Project, Ethiopian-Israelis have a lower income than other Israelis, have less opportunity for higher education, and are more likely to end up in prison. …. As Emily Harris reports, many in the Ethiopian community are drawing parallels to protests over police treatment of African-Americans in U.S. cities such as Baltimore.”

I'm sorry to hear of this, but I'm not totally surprised. A Jewish friend of mine who is a liberal Democrat, said that lots of Jews in American speak of black people as “Schwarzes” and hold hatred toward them. The long and horrific persecution history of the Jews in every place that they have settled should teach them to wipe the racism out of their own communities. See below about the Ethiopian Jews.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopian_Jews_in_Israel

Ethiopian Jews in Israel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ethiopian Jews in Israel refers to the immigrants and descendants of the immigrants of the Beta Israel communities of Ethiopia, who now reside inIsrael.[2][3][4]
Most of the community made aliyah from Ethiopia to Israel in two waves of mass immigration assisted by the Israeli government: Operation Moses (1984) and Operation Solomon (1991).[5][6]Today Israel is home to the largest Beta Israel community in the world with about 125,500 citizens of Ethiopian descent in 2011,[1] who are mainly assembled in the smaller urban areas of central Israel.[7]

Immigration history[edit]

First wave (1934-1960)[edit]

The first Ethiopian Jews who settled in Palestine in the modern times came in 1934 along with the Yemenite Jews from Italian Eritrea.

Second wave: (1961–1975)[edit]

Between the years 1963 and 1975 a relatively small group of Beta Israel emigrated to Israel. The Beta Israel immigrants in that period were mainly very few men who have studied and came to Israel on a tourist visa and then remained in the country illegally.

Several of their supporters in Israel, who recognized their "Jewishness" decided to assist them. These supporters began organizing in associations, among others under the direction of Ovadia Hazzi, an Eritrean born Yemeni Jew and former sergeant in the Israeli army. Several of those illegal immigrants managed to get a regularization with the Israeli authorities through the assistance of these support associations. Some agreed to "convert" to Judaism, which helped them regulated their personal status and remain in Israel. People who get their regularization often brought their families to Israel as well.

In 1973, Ovadia Hazzi officially raised the question of the "Jewishness" of the Beta Israel to the Israeli Sephardi Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. The rabbi, who cited a rabbinic ruling from the 16th centuryDavid ben Solomon ibn Abi Zimra and asserted that the Beta Israel are descended from the lost tribe of Dan, and eventually acknowledged their "Jewishness" in February 1973. This ruling was initially rejected by the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Shlomo Goren, who eventually changed his opinion on the matter in 1974.